Alyssa frowned. Cassies going to be tied up for the next few hours and theres no way Im driving up to the middle of nowhere, never mind hiking to the site. Gigi can She broke off and glanced in Gigis direction. Okay. I can switch some stuff around and send Cassie, I guess. Tell him shell be coming in behind the officers, and will need really good directions or a lead-in. Were shorthanded as it is. It wont do us any good to lose an analyst to the Forgotten.
Gigi barely heard the last part. She was too busy seething at the realization that Blackthorn had told Tuckera former member of the Denver P.D. who had a direct pipeline to her bossesthat he didnt want her on the case.
That backstabbing She bit off the snarl as Alyssa clicked her phone shut and regarded her curiously.
What on earth is the problem between you and Matt?
Taking a deep breath, Gigi slapped a layer of professionalism over her other emotions. As far as Im concerned, theres no problem. We met a couple of times, I was pleasant, he wasnt. End of story. At least it had been. Now she wanted a piece of him for trying to torpedo her. What had she ever done to him?
Nothing, that was what. Judgmental idiot.
Theres got to be more to it than that, Alyssa said. Its not like him to be a jerk to anyone, especially a woman, never mind leaning on Tucker for something like this.
Gigi said through her teeth, Ive barely spoken to the man. If he took one look at me and decided he didnt like what he saw, thats his problem.
Alyssas look went speculative, but she said only, He told Tucker he didnt think you could handle the backcountry, that hed rather wait for someone he didnt have to babysit.
He Gigi counted to ten and reminded herself that it didnt matter what Blackthorn thought of her. Tucker was a fair guy and a top-notch cop, which meant he cared about results. Fine, lets give Ranger Surly what he wants. Ill take over for Cassie and she can deal with his parking lot smash-and-grab.
But Alyssa shook her head, expression clouding. Its way more than that. A few hours ago, two men attacked and injured one of his rangersa woman named Tanya Dawes. They just airlifted her out.
Oh. Oh, damn. Gigi exhaled in a rush, knowing full well that aggravated assault trumped any personal issues that might or might not exist between her and Blackthorn. Is she going to be okay?
It looks like she took a serious blow to the head and may have some internal injuries. I guess she came around just long enough to tell Matt that two men had ambushed her.
Sexual assault?
No sign of it, which is good. But the head injury thats not good.
Did she give Blackthorn any sort of description? Nothing.
Damn. Which meant that the crime scene analysis could be critical. How do you want to handle it?
Alyssa thought for a few seconds, then said, I want you to head out to Station Fourteen. According to Matt, the scene took a beating when they airlifted her out, which makes you the better choice. Cassie is hell on wheels with the tech stuff, but youve got more experience with contaminated scenes. And if the problem between you and Matt is strictly an oil-and-water sort of thing, youll deal with it. Right?
Gigi nodded, already mentally reviewing the field kit she had with her, looking for gaps. Of course. Ive taken static on crime scenes before. I can handle myself.
More importantly, this wasnt about her and it sure wasnt about Blackthorn. She was there to do a job and she didnt intend to let anyone get in her way especially not a park ranger with a great body and a nasty judgmental streak.
WHEN THE FIRST BCCPD vehicle churned into view in a cloud of dust, Matt was surprised to see Jack Williams at the wheel.
Williams, who topped six feet and had early salt in his chestnut hair though he was just on the downside of thirty, was one of the top detectives in Homicide. Born and raised in Bear Claw, Jack was the latest in a long line of Williamses to serve the BCCPD, and Matts gut had long ago put the guy in the solid cop category.
As Williams climbed from the SUV, Matt headed over, hands in his pockets, still wearing his shotgun and knapsack over his shoulder. Ill have to thank Tucker, he said to Williams. This isnt exactly a case for Homicide, but Im damn glad to see you.
The detective gave him a nod. We take care of our own.
Matt didnt think he was talking about the close connection that had evolved between the P.D. and park service in Bear Claw, but didnt want to go down that road, so he said simply, Thanks. He glanced over as a second cop got out of the SUVa younger uniformed officer with a startling shock of white-blond hair and pale eyes that together made him look washed out beneath the late-summer sun. New partner?
Billy Doran, Williams said by way of introduction. Thanks to Mayor Cheapskates latest round of cuts, were down to under a dozen detectives trying to cover the whole damn city. Rather than partnering detectives, Tuckers got some of us teaming up with uniforms.
Despite his one-time interest in politics, Matt had stayed well clear of Bear Claws issues, just as he largely avoided the city itself. He hadnt moved to Station Fourteen to get involved in city stuff, after all. Even so, he knew that Mayor Percy Proudfoot had been taking some serious hacks at the budget in an effort to turn around a huge budget deficit. The P.D. in particular was having to get creative.
He sent the kid a nod. Doran. Turning back to Williams, he said, Ill lead you guys in, then come back down for Cassie when she gets here. He hesitated. Theres something I didnt get a chance to tell Tucker. He told them about the feather, patted his buttoned pocket. You guys want it?
Keep it until Cass gets here, Williams said. Its probably better not to move it around more than necessary. But dont be surprised if she wants your shirt, too, in case theres transfer. He grinned. Just watch what you say if she does. Last guy who made a sexist joke about the crime scene girls got the rough side of Alyssas tongue, and then spent some quality time directing traffic for a sewer repair crew, courtesy of Chief Mendoza.
Ill keep that in mind. Actually, it didnt matter to him whether the Bear Claw analysts were women or Martians, as long as they got the job done.
Grab the gear, Williams said to Doran. To Matt, he said, Lead on and lets see what these bastards left us.
Not much that I could see. The scene is pretty torn up.
Sure enough, once he got them up there, Williams shook his head. You werent kidding. What isnt bare rock is a frigging mess. He sent Doran to take pictures and notes, but didnt look optimistic. I have a feeling our best bet is going to be talking to Tanya when she wakes up.
Matt nodded, partly in thanks for the word choice. When she woke up. Not if. When.
The detective said, Want to run me through what you saw? Maybe being up here will kick loose something new.
Of course. Matt started right from the moment he heard Cochrans first shout, but it was becoming rote. And, really, he hadnt been there when it counted.
By the time Doran was done, Williams was ready to head back down to the station and question the Cochrans, so Matt led them back to the vehicles.
By the time Doran was done, Williams was ready to head back down to the station and question the Cochrans, so Matt led them back to the vehicles.
On the way, he radioed Bert for an update and got confirmation that Tanyas injuries were from an attack rather than a fall, along with the grim news that she was still unconscious and the early scan results werent good. Damn it.
Forcing his emotions down where they belonged, Matt asked, How about the CSI? Did she come through the station yet? If Tanya wasnt waking up, they needed to get moving on the scene. Every minute they wasted was another minute the perps were using to get away or plan another attack.
Yeah. She should be there any minute.
Sure enough, the cops were loading up their SUV when the radio on his hip squalled a broken transmission. All he caught was a womans voice and the words almost there.
The dust kicked up by Williamss departing SUV was just clearing when a new cloud took shape and a nearly identical vehicle appeared coming the other way.
Matt checked his watch and was surprised to see that even though it felt like days had passed, it had only been five or six hours of real time. That meant they had a couple of hours of daylight left.
They would need it, too. It wouldnt be easy to truck in lights, and there wasnt much chance of an airdrop. Tucker had already given him the heads up that the P.D. was getting pressure from higher up the food chainaka Mayor Proudfoots officeto keep Tanyas assault on the down low and not over-commit resources.
The official line was that the attack wasnt all that different from an in-city mugging, and while Tanya would get some preference as a ranger, the P.D. shouldnt go overboard. The real rationale, though, was even simpler: Bear Claw City was hurting for money and couldnt afford to lose any tourists.
Matt hated the equation, the politics.
The SUV cruised in going too fast and kicked up dust, suggesting that Cassie, too, knew they were racing the sun. Grit hazed things as the door swung open and she got out, hauling a heavy-looking tackle box with her.
He headed over, extending a hand. Let me grab that for He trailed off, stopping dead as his gut fisted on a surge of heat mixed with dismay.
The woman coming toward him wasnt the businesslike blonde hed been expecting.
Not even close.
A sizzle shot through him at the sight of a sharp, triangular face beneath a crooked cap of shiny dark hair. He told himself the sensation was dismay, because he sure as hell shouldnt be feeling anything else toward a woman like Gigi Lynd.
Gigi. It sounded like it should come with a French label and an import tariff. And from her trendy haircut and unbalanced ear piercingsone on the right, three on the leftto the silver-gilded tips of her gleaming lizard-skin bootsblack today rather than the purple she had been wearing before, but equally as impracticalshe didnt belong anywhere near the backcountry. Or him.
His pulse raced. He was going to kill Tucker.
Her white button-down was open just low enough to show a hint of cleavage, and the black belt that rode below her narrow waist had a gleam of silver that drew the eye.
No, he said without preamble as she squared off opposite him. I want one of the others.
Her smoky gray eyes narrowed. You made that clear when you trashed me to McDermott.
I didnt He broke off, guilt stinging because he hadnt exactly trashed her, but hed made it clear he didnt think she had the backcountry experience or analytical chops to handle the case. Look, its nothing personal.
Bull. You took one look at me and decided that I was incompetent based on, what? Some eyeliner and a little bling? She flicked the more heavily pierced of her earlobes. Fine, whatever, thats your problem not mine. But youre one-hundred percent right that this shouldnt be personal. You dont have to like me. Just get out of my way and let me do my job.
The guilt twisted harder because she was right. Hed snap judged her, hard, which was so far from his usual style it was practically alien.
That didnt mean she was the right analyst for the job, though.
He glanced up the trail. Look, Im sorry about the attitude. Its just Believe it or not, I dont doubt your competenceMcDermott wouldnt have leaned on his contacts in Denver to get you if you werent the best crime scene analyst available. But youre a long way from home, and the backcountry isnt anything like the city. Alyssa, Cassie and Maya have all worked scenes out here before. You havent.
She pierced him with a cool look. Yet they sent me, even after you told Tucker not to. Want to take a guess as to why?
I dont want to Damn it. He jammed both hands in his pockets, knowing he was beaten. And what was more, he was dead wrong. She hadnt done a damn thing to deserve his suspicion. It wasnt her fault that she was the first woman in a long time to make him want to stop and take a second, longer look. Maybe a taste.
And that so wasnt happening.
He didnt know what she saw in his face, but her expression softened. Im sorry about what happened to Tanya. And under the circumstances, Im even sorry that my being here bothers you. But back in Denver I was the analyst of choice for badly contaminated scenes. Right before I left, I worked a murder scene at the edge of an eroded riverbank the day after a downpour. And yes, we got the guy. She paused. You want to get the two men who hurt your ranger? Then take me to your scene and make it fast, because were burning daylight.
Matt wasnt sure which was worse: having been so thoroughly set down or knowing that he was going to have to stick right with her. Because hed be damned if anyone else got hurt on his watch.
Okay, he said. Okay, yeah. Mind already skimming ahead to what he was going to need out of the Jeep, he whipped off his shirt and held it out. Youre going to want this.
It wasnt until she gave a strangled gasp, eyes going wide, that he realized he was standing there bare-chested, and she had no clue why hed just stripped down.
Heat washed through him. Oh, hell. That was so not cool.
Theres evidence in the front pocket, he said quickly. A feather Tanya was holding when I got to her. Williams said you would want the shirt, too, for transfer. He started to apologize, would have except for one thing:
She was staring at his chest.
He stilled, watching a faint flush climb her throat and work its way to her face as she swallowed. Then she jerked her eyes to his, and the blush hit hard.
Electricity raced over his skin, tightening his body as they stared at each other for a three count.
She recovered first, with a gulp and a small shiver that he felt deep in his gut. Um, she said, voice huskier than it had been a moment earlier, hold that thought.
When she put down the tackle box that contained her field kit, he thought hell, he didnt know what he thought. His brain was gone, melted by whatever had just telegraphed between them. So when she rummaged and came up with a large evidence bag, he just stared at it for a second.
Then reality returned and his brain reassembled itself.
Tanya. Evidence. The crime scene.
What the hell was he doing?
Without a word, he folded the shirt and tucked it into the bag, watched her seal it and scrawl her name on the first line of the evidence chain. Then he turned away and headed for his Jeep, saying over his shoulder, Let me grab my jacket and we can hit the trail.